For a number of years vehicle manufacturers have provided precise frame and body dimensions and specifications for each model and type of vehicle. Such specifications provide charts, dimensions and measurements that indicate precise reference measurement points, holes, surfaces and locations, which will collectively be referred to as ‘measurement points’ or ‘reference points’. These reference measurement specifications relate to height of various points from a reference plane, which can be a physical plane or a virtual plane, and often referred to a datum; centerline horizontal measurements between various associated reference points; longitudinal positioning between various associated points; vertical positioning of the various associated reference points; and various point-to-point distances. When all of the specified measurements and locations of a vehicle match the manufacturer specified dimensions, the frame or body structure is straight and in alignment.
There are a variety of vehicle support structures and frame structures upon which the various body components are assembled and supported. Common vehicle structures include a frame to support various body parts and a unitized body structure, alternatively referred to herein as unit-body or unibody, wherein the entire frame and body of the vehicle are included as a single unit. The unitized body structure can be lighter in weight than a frame structure, while maintaining sufficient strength characteristics; reduces assembly cost; and is more economical. It is recognized that the various types of damage that can occur resulting from collisions, and the like, are likely to be multi-dimensional and at multiple locations such that the repair and re-alignment of all of the component parts requires multiple steps. It would of course be beneficial to have a system for repairing damaged vehicle frames and structures with a minimal number of repair processes performed in an ordered fashion.
To assist in providing specification information, vehicle manufacturers will provide requirements to measure from a reference point to a number of different types of reference points. These might include measurement to a structural element, such as a bolt head, a physical structure or the like, and in such cases will define precisely how to make the measurement. Manufactures also commonly provide fixturing holes in the frame that can be used as identified reference points to make repairs. Again, the specification will define how to utilize such fixturing holes in making measurements to determine the amount of damage and assess when alignment has been achieved.
There are several existing vehicle repair systems that separately or in combination include a lift system for raising a vehicle to comfortable working position; an anchor system to anchor the vehicle to a floor, a bench, or a platform; a measuring system for measuring selected ones of the specified measurement points to aid in determining the extent of repairs that will be needed to bring the damaged structure back into specification; and a suitable system for pulling and pushing the damaged vehicle into pre-damaged specification position. The various existing vehicle repair systems utilize a variety of independent measurement systems, and one or more utilizes an integrated measurement system. However, none of the existing systems functions to provide a system or methodology to analyze the damage and to provide a proposed sequencing of repair pulls and pushes that will minimize the time and effort to bring the damaged vehicle back into specification. It would be beneficial to have such a repair system.
Some repair systems recommend starting the repair operations at the point of impact. With the pulling and pushing capability of many frame-straightening systems, there is a tendency to make major adjustments at the outset at the point of impact. For example, a vehicle that has been damaged by impact in the rear end will often be clamped down and force exerted to pull the rear end in the direction opposite to the direction of impact in an attempt to move the structure back to pre-impact position. Such gross adjustments require extensive amounts of pulling power and can result in additional body damage as bent and distorted elements are also moved, but not necessarily in a straightening direction or directions.
There are a variety of measuring systems available for determining deviations from specification measurements. Such measuring systems can be difficult to utilize; and, as a result, many technicians fail to utilize the tools at hand. Even when used, however, such measuring systems do not assist the repair technician in deciding on what repair pulls or pushes should be done in a particular order, nor do they assist the technician in establishing the optimum directions to pull or push any selected damaged portions of the vehicle. To alleviate these deficiencies, it would be advantageous to have a vehicle repair system that would apply a specific measuring order to establish height from a predetermined datum, centerline and length distortions for selected ones of the reference relationships.
Various ones of the existing vehicle repair systems provide a great deal of versatility in applying holding, pulling and pushing forces at a large number of selected positions on the vehicle body. The applications of these forces are left to the technician to select; and, depending upon the skill and experience of any such technician, the ordering will vary substantially. Variations in the ordering of the various applications of forces, will result in a number of unwanted results, such as, brute force attempts to lengthen twisted or mashed structures will likely cause further distortion and damage to other portions of the structure; the number of operations to hold, push and pull will be unpredictable and more numerous than necessary; and the precision of returning the vehicle to pre-damage specifications will be difficult to achieve. It would be advantageous to have a vehicle repair system capable of performing damage analysis with regard to damage involving sag, twist, centerline, diamond and side displacement; and to provide a preferred and ordered system for applying damage corrective forces.
When utilizing existing repair equipment and procedures, it is common to apply pulling or pushing forces in directions that are opposite the direction of impact and damage. It is often determined that a number of such pulls and pushes will bring the various measurement points back into pre-damage specified positions, but in reality, following such a procedure, it is likely that one or more measurements will be outside accepted tolerances. It would be advantageous to have a repair system that will provide three-dimensional definition of areas of repair and would define precise holding points and associated points to apply pulling or pushing forces. In addition to defining the positions to apply pulling or pushing forces, it would be advantageous to have a vehicle repair system that would prescribe the direction of application of such forces, where direction would be understood to mean a three-dimensional vector, which in a three-dimensional graphing system would include x, y and z components in the determination of the preferred force vector.
There are a number of measurement systems available to assist in returning a damaged vehicle to specification. A common system is to provide height and width measurements and to order the repair from the top down. This approach has been found to be deficient in returning all specified measurement points to required specification.
Another available damage measurement system utilizes a number of adjustable measuring arms that can be positioned to selected measurement points for various vehicle models, and provide visual readout of measurements from a reference plane. This type of measurement system also contemplates converting the visual readout to electrical signals that can be directed externally to a visual display, such as a computer. While this system is much improved over other measurement systems, it does not provide any guidance in selecting various repair operations, nor does it provide any guidance in directing any sequence of repair operations.
Yet another type of measurement apparatus used in vehicle repair systems involve the use of jigs that are unique to each model of vehicle. The jigs are positioned on a repair structure and forces are applied to the damaged vehicle to bring the various frame or body elements back into alignment defined by the various jigs. While the jig usage is very effective during construction of vehicles, that being their intended purpose, they are less than efficient when used in a repair process because there is likely to be damage that will not be brought back into specification when only the points related to the jig positions are repaired. Since jigs vary between vehicle types, a repair facility either has to purchase the jigs for all vehicles that will be repaired, or must arrange to rent the appropriate jigs as damaged vehicles come in for repair. In addition to limitations in the use of jigs to bring a vehicle back into specification, there is an inordinate amount of cost to purchase the required jigs, or there is time delay encountered in obtaining delivery of rented jigs.
None of the known methods of measuring deviations from specification of dislocated measurement points provide correlation to the specification data for the particular vehicle type for the purpose of establishing a sequence of repair operations, nor do any of the known measurement systems provide assistance in evaluating the total extent of the damage. It would be beneficial to have such a vehicle repair system.
It is common for known vehicle repair systems to only partially repair damaged vehicles, such limitations being due to inadequacy of repair system performance, inadequacy of operator training, or a combination thereof. Failure to bring a damaged vehicle fully back within specification can result in a vehicle that is unsafe to operate or does not perform as originally designed. It would be desirable to have a repair process to bring damaged vehicles back within specification for safety of operators and performance of repaired vehicles.
There are a number of vehicle repair structures, apparatus and systems available for supporting a damaged vehicle and applying forces to the vehicle. Some of these systems include measuring systems for locating reference points on the vehicle for aiding in returning such reference points back to specification. None of these structures or systems provide adequate instruction to users relative to the process of establishing a sequence of repair operations that minimizes the number of repair steps; minimizes collateral damage caused by the repair steps; minimizes the amount of force required for each repair step to accomplish the repair operations; or how to bring the damaged vehicle back within specification. It would be desirable to have a vehicle repair system that would permit training of user operators to achieve such results.